Fiona Evans

Fiona Evans is an award-winning playwright who writes for theatre, radio and television. Her Edinburgh Fringe play Scarborough about an illicit pupil-teacher relationship (Nick Hern Books, 2008), which later transferred to the Royal Court, exemplifies Fiona’s ability to tackle difficult subjects with heart and humour. In 2008, she worked closely with the families of Geoff Gray and James Collinson, two of four young recruits found dead at Deepcut Barracks, to write Geoff Dead: Disco for Sale for Live Theatre.

The Startling Truths of Old World Sparrows (BBC Radio 3) won the Grand Prix Nova International Radio Drama Festival silver award for its innovative use of children playing octogenarians. Other radio work includes a serialised adaptation of Helen Dunmore’s Your Blue-Eyed Boy (Radio 4), Beware the Kids (Radio 3’s Free Thinking festival) and My Greenham (Radio 4).

Pursuing her interest in dramatic structure, Fiona graduated from BBC Writers’ Academy in 2008 and started writing for TV: EastEnders, Holby City, Casualty, Doctors and Hollyoaks. Always keen to hone her craft and experiment with form, she embarked on a practice-led Creative Writing PhD and was awarded a doctorate (Newcastle University, 2019) for Radaptation: Adapting Ancient Greek tragedy in the Twenty-first Century — foregrounding contemporary working-class women in mythic narrative.

Passionate about fair access to the arts and education, Fiona teaches in both formal and community settings.

She lives and works on a farm in Scotland, where she and her partner breed and raise thoroughbred horses – using natural horsemanship techniques – for National Hunt racing.

Fiona Evans is an award-winning playwright who writes for theatre, radio and television. Her stage play Scarborough (Nick Hern Books, 2008) was hailed ‘hit of the fringe’ at Edinburgh Fringe, 2007, later transferring to the Royal Court in 2008 for an extended sell-out run.

The play, a-fly-on-the-wall account of an illicit relationship between a teacher and pupil, exemplifies Fiona’s ability to tackle dark and difficult subjects with heart and humour. In 2008, she worked closely with the families of Geoff Gray and James Collinson, two of four young recruits found dead at Deepcut Barracks, to write Geoff Dead: Disco for Sale for Live Theatre. Other published theatrical work includes Geordie Sinatra (Samuel French, 2013, Live Theatre & Stephen Joseph Theatre), The Price of Everything (Nick Hern Books, 2010, Stephen Joseph Theatre) and We Love You, Arthur (Joseph Weinberger, 2005; New Writing North regional tour of coalfields and Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh).

The Startling Truths of Old World Sparrows (BBC Radio 3) won the Grand Prix Nova International Radio Drama Festival silver award for its innovative use of children playing octogenarians. Other radio work includes a serialised adaptation of Helen Dunmore’s Your Blue-Eyed Boy (Radio 4), Fault Lines series – Electricity and Deception – starring Glenda Jackson, My Greenham (Radio 4) and Beware the Kids (Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival).

Fiona graduated from BBC Writers’ Academy in 2008 and started writing for TV. Her commissions include work on continuing dramas: EastEnders, Holby City, Casualty, Doctors, Hollyoaks and Shakespeare & Hathaway.

Always keen to hone her craft and experiment with form, she embarked on a practice-led Creative Writing PhD and was awarded a doctorate (Newcastle University, 2019) for Radaptation: Adapting Ancient Greek Tragedy in the Twenty-first Century — foregrounding contemporary working-class women in mythic narrative. Her published research includes three ‘radaptations’ of Euripides’ tragedies Medea, Electra and Hippolytus: My Boy, Electricity and Fed.

Teaching and community engagement has always been a key part of Fiona’s creative practice. She has worked in a range of non-traditional arts settings (prisons, community centres, hospitals) with a diverse range of people (refugees, young offenders, homeless people and those with care experience); as well as enjoying community engagement, Fiona believes that passing on skills keeps her craft honed and writing relevant and fresh.

Fiona is currently writing a contemporary stage play inspired by Great Expectations (Ayr Gaiety) and informed by her work as writer-in-residence working with care-experienced young people at South Ayrshire Champions Board funded through Ayr Gaiety Creative Learning Department and Creative Scotland Culture Collective.

Fiona is currently RLF Fellow at Strathclyde University, supporting students (undergraduates to PhD level students) with their academic writing. She lives and works on a farm in Ayrshire.